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Ramsey County History – Summer 2004: “From Farm to Florence: The Gifted Keating Sisters and the Mystery of Their Lost Paintings”

Margaret M. Marrinan

From Farm to Florence: The Gifted Keating Sisters and the Mystery of Their Lost Paintings Author: Margaret M. Marrinan This article centers on two Irish farm girls, Anysia and Sophia Keating who became nuns and developed into prolific painters. The mystery had to do with a search for information…

Ramsey County History – Summer 2003: “Fear a Powerful Motivator—A Harvest of Victims: The Twin Cities and St. Paul’s Traumatic Small Pox Epidemic of 1924”

Paul D. Nelson

Fear a Powerful Motivator—A Harvest of Victims: The Twin Cities and St. Paul’s Traumatic Small Pox Epidemic of 1924 Author: Paul D. Nelson The Twin Cites most traumatic encounter with smallpox took place in 1924–25. There were two different variations of smallpox, and, at the time, the local health departments’…

Ramsey County History – Fall 1992: “Postcards: A Full-blown Love Affair”

Robert M. Stumm

Postcards: A Full-blown Love Affair Author: Robert J. Stumm Photo postcards soared in popularity at the turn of the 19th to the 20th century. The author, a collector, records the history of the American postcard and displays ten of his favorite scenes of old St. Paul. PDF of…

Ramsey County History – Fall 1989: “A Pioneer Writes Home: Alexander Wilkin and 1850s St. Paul”

Ronald M. Hubbs

A Pioneer Writes Home: Alexander Wilkin and 1850s St. Paul Author: Ronald M. Hubbs Alexander Wilkin was an important early resident of St. Paul. Lawyer, speculator, politician, adventurer, he sought fortune and glory on the frontier. He got both, plus an early death in battle. Letters he wrote to…

Ramsey County History – Spring 1989: “Minnesota’ First Art School: St. Agatha’s Conservatory and the Pursuit of Excellence”

Sister Ann Thomasine Sampson

Minnesota’ First Art School: St. Agatha’s Conservatory and the Pursuit of Excellence Author: Sister Ann Thomasine Sampson Five pieces by the same author tell the story of St. Agatha’s Conservatory. Cousins Mother Seraphine and Mother Celestine of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet were major figures. St. Agatha…

Ramsey County History – Spring 1979: “Letters to Fannie Higgins: The Courtship of Patrick O’Brien”

Michael Maher

Letters to Fannie Higgins: The Courtship of Patrick O’Brien Author: Michael Maher The author has assembled a portrait of the Irish immigrant Patrick O’Brien, his life, work, and personality from surviving letters. The result is a portrait of life in St. Paul in the 1860s and ‘70s. The letters…

Ramsey County History – Spring 1979: “The Liberated Woman Patrick O’Brien Married”

Michael Maher

The Liberated Woman Patrick O’Brien Married Author: Michael Maher Fannie Higgins worked in her youth as a dressmaker in Hudson, Wisconsin. The same cache of family letters that inspired the previous article about Patrick O’Brien also yields a portrait of Fannie Higgins and her times. She was independent, a…

Ramsey County History – Fall 1972: “Introduction: Anna Ramsey’s Letters”

Anna E. Ramsey

Introduction: Anna Ramsey’s Letters Author: Anna E. Ramsey Anna Ramsey was the wife of Alexander Ramsey, Minnesota’s first territorial governor. Over 200 of her letters survive. The excerpts published here provide “a survey of various aspects of Mrs. Ramsey’s life.” These include her sense of humor, her relations with…

Ramsey County History – Fall 1968: “Spring Wagons and No Roads: A Pioneer Family’s Sunday”

Lillie Gibbs LeVesconte

Spring Wagons and No Roads: A Pioneer Family’s Sunday Author: Lillie Gibbs LeVesconte A short reminiscence left by the youngest child (born 1865) of Jane and Heman Gibbs about Sundays in the 1870s in St. Anthony Park and the St. Paul campus of the University of Minnesota.